Pickleball players take a rest in between sets at the Rowlett Community Centre.

(
Rose Baca
-
neighborsgo staff photographer
)

Ed Guancial gets ready to serve in a game of pickleball at the Rowlett Community Centre.

(Rose Baca - neighborsgo staff photographer)

Pickleball players Sarah Smith (left) and Casey Erickson chat in between games at the Rowlett Community Centre.

(
Rose Baca
-
neighborsgo staff photographer
)

Sharon Redd plays pickleball at the Rowlett Community Centre. Pickleball, played by individuals or doubles, is like a mix of tennis and badminton with a lower net. Only the team serving can get points, and players receiving the serve must let the ball bounce before returning it.

(Rose Baca - neighborsgo staff photographer)

As 88-year-old Tom Montgomery swatted a Wiffle ball with a small pad.dle, 18-year-old Victoria Nie braced to return his serve during their game of pickleball.

Seven decades between competitors doesn’t mean much on this court.

The two were a handful of people playing pickleball on May 6 in Rockwall. It’s a slow growing community of dedicated players.

Pickleball, played by individuals or doubles, is like a mix of tennis and badminton with a lower net. Only the team serving can get points and players receiving the serve must let the ball bounce before returning it.

Nie said she’s played table tennis and badminton but had never tried her hand at pickleball before.

“This racket is like the one in table tennis and the shot is like badminton,” Nie said, as she demonstrated an underhanded swing.

After their lively match, Montgomery praised Nie.

“That’s the best I’ve ever seen anybody play their first time,” Montgomery said.

Jane Lee took Nie, who’s visiting from Beijing, to meet her community of pickleball friends.

Lee said Nie’s ease at playing for the first time is a testament to how accessible pickleball is.

Pickleball was invented in 1965 by the late former U.S. Rep. Joel Pritchard (R-WA) and his friend. They wanted a game their families could enjoy together while using an old badminton court, according to the USA Pickleball Association website.

Pickleball is played at multiple places including the J.E.R. Chilton YMCA at Rockwall, the Boys & Girls Club of Rockwall County and the Rowlett Community Centre.

The group started out playing at the Rockwall YMCA, which is undergoing a $5 million expansion that started in November 2013 and is expected to end by October. Montgomery, a YMCA member, said the construction disrupted his normal workout schedule, which prompted him to approach members playing pickleball.

Now he’s hooked.

“I have been doing water aerobics for four or five years, but they had so much trouble keeping water in the pool, and the showers are cold,” he said. “When they get it all done, I’ll probably go back to water aerobics, but I’ll never give this up.”

Although he’s new to the sport, Montgomery’s dedication runs deep.

“There was no air conditioning yesterday,” he said. “I played for three hours, and I was drenched.”

Rockwall YMCA director Bonnie LaVielle said about 10 members routinely play pickleball, which costs the YMCA about $250 for the net, a few rackets and about three dozen Wiffle balls.

LaVielle said members can easily set up to play and use the gym when it’s otherwise empty during the day.

“It hasn’t grown our membership, but it helps our current members,” she said. “It’s not hard on your hips. It’s just real good on your joints.”

After less than an hour of play, the lights at the YMCA went off due to the construction.

The players then moved to the Boys & Girls Club of Rockwall County where about 30 pickleball players frequently use the facilities.

John Roe, 62, helps organize players in the area. He said his father introduced him to the sport about 15 years ago, but he didn’t start playing regularly until the past few years.

“It’s just a lot of fun,” Roe said. “My right arm’s bigger than my left arm now after playing consistently for three years. It’s really good for toning muscles and just general exercise.”

Roe said part of the appeal is that the game doesn’t require running very far.

He said a pickleball court is 20 feet by 44 feet, whereas a tennis court is 36 feet by 78 feet.

Roe said when he started there weren’t many people playing in the area so he connected with people on the USA Pickleball Association site.

“Since then it’s just been word of mouth,” Roe said. “There’s people here today who I don’t know. ... It’s just mushroomed.”

Roe usually plays at the Boys & Girls Club, but he also frequents the Rowlett Community Centre to get his fill of the sport. In February, about 25 people started playing pickleball on the center’s three courts, said Brian Norton, athletics and aquatics supervisor for the Rowlett Parks and Recreation department.

“Some people contacted us who play pickleball in Rockwall and wanted to be able to play somewhere closer to home,” Norton said.

Norton said he expects more people to start playing.

“The people we have in our group are happy to bring people in and show them the rules,” Norton said. “It’s an easy sport to play and anybody can do it.”

Rockwall YMCA member Bill Wagoner said even a past neck injury won’t keep him from the court. He straps on a neck brace before challenging his opponents.

“I really should quit and swim, but I love the competition of pickleball,” Wagoner said. “You’ll get young people who are tennis players, but the older people can fox them and win it.”